(i) Technical Field
The present invention relates to a contact member, an image carrier, and an image forming apparatus.
(ii) Related Art
In the related art, a cylindrical body (photoconductor drum) is made of metal, and a contact member disposed within the cylindrical body is made of resin. When disposing of an imaging forming apparatus, it is necessary to separate the cylindrical body and the contact member for recycling. For that purpose, the operator inserts a distal end of a columnar rodlike member from one side of the cylindrical body, and pushes the contact member supported within the cylindrical body with the distal end of the rodlike member. The contact member is thereby taken out from the other side of the cylindrical body.
In this operation, the force for pushing the contact member out of the inside of the cylindrical member is sometimes not sufficiently transmitted to the contact member because an outer peripheral surface of the rodlike member and an inner surface of the cylindrical member rub together.